Process of making moccasin type shoes



July 26, 1966 A. M PHERSON PROCESS OF MAKING MOCCASIN TYPE SHOES FiledJune 14, 1963 INVENTOR. ALLAN MOCPHERSON FIG. 4

z wawz ATTORNEYS f kr United States Patent 3,262,141 PRUCESS OF MAKINGMOCCASIN TYPE SHOES Allan Maclherson, 14 Park Road, Brockton, Mass,Filed June 14, 1963, Ser- No. 287,857 4 Claims. (Cl. 12142) Thisinvention comprises a new and improved process of making a welted shoeof the moccasin type. Many attempts have been made to provide such shoeswith a standard Goodyear welt by which all the advantages of suchconstruction may be realized; as for example, by stitching a welt to themoccasin blank in flat condition or by providing an insole to which thewelt may be attached. These attempts have not been entirely satisfactoryfor one reason or another. The operation of lasting a moccasin blankhaving an already attached welt makes the lasting operation difficult,while the provision of an insole detracts from the desired flexibilityof the shoe.

The present invention rests upon my discovery of a process by which awelt strip may be stitched directly and in accurately gauged position tothe sole portion of a lasted moccasin. This new process may be brieflycharacterized by the employment of a preformed welt gauging patternwhich is temporarily attached to the bottom of the lasted moccasin andserves to determine positively and accurately the position of the weltstrip as it is presented to the moccasin by the welt guide of aLittleway lock stitch machine or other suitable sewing machine. Inaddition to its gauging function such a pattern prevents collapse of theupper when the last is withdrawn in preparation for the stitchingoperation.

For the purpose of carrying out the process of my invention the shoemanufacturer always has available a paper or cardboard insole patternfor the contemplated shoe. From this pattern it is an easy step to forma templet which may be about one-half inch smaller in dimensions thanthe insole pattern and may if desired be cut somewhat closer in theshank. From this templet is prepared a welt gauging pattern and this maybe of insole pattern board or other stiff sheet material. The welt gaugepattern thus provided is now spotted on the bottom of the lastedmoccasin and thereby defines upon the bottom a marginal welt receivingarea. Now, upon withdrawal of the last, the welt strip may be presentedaccurately against the edge of the welt gauge pattern and secured by aline of lock stitching passing through the welt strip and the underlyingbottom of the moccasin. Subsequently an outsole may be stitched to thewelt and a moccasin type shoe thus provided which has all the advantagesof a standard Goodyear welt shoe.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred manner ofcarrying out my novel process as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- FIG. 1 is a diagram of the insole pattern and templetfor the welt gauging pattern,

FIG. 2 is a plan view depicting the welt sewing step,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of FIG. 2 on an enlargedscale,

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation depicting the step of spotting the weltgauging pattern on the lasted shoe bottom, and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view suggesting the outsole stitching step.

The shoe manufacturer has as part of his equipment for the contemplatedshoe a paper insole pattern Ill such as that indicated in dot and dashlines in FIG. 1. Although no insole is employed in the present processthe pattern is useful in preparing a paper templet 11 for the weltgauging pattern 12. This may be formed of insole pattern board,cardboard, or the like, and coincides in contour substantially with thetemplet 11 except that it may be 3,262,141 Patented July 26, 1966 cutsomewhat closer in the shank. It may be conveniently formed on the wellknown Planet Sole Rounder.

Meantime, in the course of the process, the full moccasin blank 14 hasbeen lasted in the usual manner upon a last 13 with its sole portion 15lying flat upon the last bottom and supported thereby. The shoe bottomis thus presented in the most favorable condition to have the weltgauging pattern 12 spotted thereon and temporarily secured thereto assuggested in FIG. 4. In this step a one-way cement, as latex, is appliedin the areas 16 and 17 indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 2. The spottingand securing of the pattern 12 to the shoe bottom requires skill andjudgment on the part of the operator but no more than is expected as amatter of course in the manufacture of Compo cement-lasted shoes.

The last 13 is now withdrawn from the shoe leaving the stilt pattern 12attached to the shoe bottom as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and providing byits marginal edge a positive gauge line setting off a flat marginalwelt-receiving area in the bottom 15 of the moccasin. The pattern alsoimparts a temporary stiffness to the bottom 15 which facilitateshandling of the shoe in the welt sewing step, now to be described.

This may be carried out with the assistance of any straight-needlesewing machine having a welt guide. The welt guide of the Littlewaymachine is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It comprises a bracket 20 by which itis bolted in place in the machine head. The bracket 20 merges downwardlyinto a gauge arm 21 having a flat outer gauging face adapted to runagainst the upright shoulder of the welt gauging pattern 12.

The welt guide has also an outwardly extending lateral arm 22 carryingbeneath it an adjustable guide block 19 and a roller edge guide 23mounted upon a stud 24. The welt passage is formed between the outerface of the gauge arm 21 and the inner face of the guide block 19. Thewelt 28 is partially overlaid by a portion of the lateral arm 22. Boththis and the inner face of the edge gauge 21 are beveled to form a slot25 for the passage of the needle 26. As it passes through the weltpassage the welt 28 is thus positively located a short predetermineddistance from the edge of the pattern 12 and directly in line with thepath of the needle 26. It is secured permanently to the bottom portion15 of the moccasin by a line 22 of lock stitches.

It will be apparent that the welt 28 has thus been located and securedin an accurate, positively gauged manner while the work in the hands ofthe operator is supported by the pattern 12 which is laterally ortransversely stiff. This temporary stiffening pattern is now strippedoil the bottom of the shoe leaving the shoe bottom in condition toreceive a filler 32 of any kind between the inner margins of the welt 29and to have an outsole 30 stitched to the welt by stitch line 31 inaccordance with standard Goodyear welt procedure.

Having thus disclosed by invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

1. The process of making moccasin type shoes, comprising the steps oflasting a moccasin blank, temporarily attaching to the sole portion ofthe lasted blank a still sole-shaped pattern thereby setting off amarginal welt area, then removing the last, gauging a welt strip againstthe edge of said pattern, attaching the welt while thus gauged to theunsupported sole portion of the moccasin, removing the sole-shapedpattern, and stitching an outsole to the welt.

2. The process of making moccasin type shoes, comprising the steps ofmaking templet of size reduced from the insole pattern of thecontemplated shoe, preparing from the templet a welt-gauging patterncoinciding in contour with the templet, temporarily securing thewelt-gauging pattern to the sole portion of a lasted moccasin, removingthe last, sewing the welt to the sole portion of the moccasin whilegauged against the welt-gauging pattern, and stitching an outsole to thewelt.

3. In a process of making moccasin type shoes, the steps of temporarilysecuring to the sole portion of a lasted moccasin a still sole-shapedpattern thereby setting ofif a marginal welt area therein, removing thelast, and stitching a welt strip to the sole portion of the moccasinwhile progressively gauging the welt against the pattern which is stillsecured to the sole portion of the moccasin.

4. In a process of making moccasin type shoes, the steps of temporarilycementing to the bottom of a lasted moccasin a stiff sole-shaped patternthereby setting off a marginal welt area of about three-fourths of aninch and stiffening the enclosed area of the moccasin bottom, pullingthe last, and then stitching a welt strip to the moccasin bottom Whilethe latter is supported by the cemented pattern and While the welt stripis gauged against the edge of the pattern.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,027,737 1/1936Laible 12 142 2,204,669 6/1940 Engel 12 142 2,420,466 5/1947 Cordeau 12142 FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

1. THE PROCESS OF MAKING MOCCASIN TYPE SHOES, COMPRISING THE STEPS OFLASTING A MOCCASIN BLANK, TEMPORARILY ATTACHING TO THE SOLE PORION OFTHE LASTED BLANK A STIFF SOLE SHAPED PATTERN THEREBY SETTING OFF AMARGINAL WELT AREA, THERN REMOVING THE LAST, GAUGING A WELT STRIPAGAINST THE EDGE OF SAID PATTERN, ATTACHING THE WELT WHILE THUS GAUGEDTO THE UNSUPPORTED SOLE PORTION OF THE MOCCASIN, REMOVING THESOLE-SHAPED PATTERN, AND STITCHING AN OUTSOLE TO THE WELT.